


Falling Into Orbit (Firsts in Space)

by meanderingmirth



Series: Firsts [1]
Category: VIXX
Genre: Space!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-23
Updated: 2015-04-23
Packaged: 2018-03-25 09:26:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3805246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meanderingmirth/pseuds/meanderingmirth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A list of Taekwoon and Sanghyuk's firsts in space.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Falling Into Orbit (Firsts in Space)

**Author's Note:**

> posted on tumblr as well.
> 
> enjoy! （＿´ω｀）

**First Meeting** : Sanghyuk dutifully pretends not to hear Lieutenant Jung hiss furiously under his breath to the captain of the  _VIXX_ , “We’re a galatic defence squad, not a babysitting faculty!” and watches Captain Cha nudge the Lieutenant in the ribs, muttering back, “He’s a graduate trainee from the academy; he’s more than qualified.”

And then he tries not to shrink in on himself when Lieutenant Jung whips around to fix him with a deadly glare, as though he knows Sanghyuk has next to zero experience in the field and had literally graduated a  _day_ ago.

+

 **First one-on-one interaction** : He’s making his way to the showers after an intense workout with the other new recruits when he hears a stern voice call out from the doorway of the gym, “Cadet Han.”

Sanghyuk is saluting Lieutenant Jung before he’s even turned around, and he breaks out into fresh sweat as the stoic man stalks over and holds out a star route chart— the chart Sanghyuk had finished mapping out that morning and submitted to Captain Cha, as a matter of fact. Lieutenant Jung stares him down before asking, “This is your work, no?”

“Yes sir,” Sanghyuk replies, willing his voice not to crack. If he’s going to get reprimanded, he’d rather it happen without any tears on his part. But then Lieutenant Jung nods, folds the chart back up, and says briskly, “Good work. The Captain wants you to take a permanent post under Corporal Lee and assist him with future charting work starting tomorrow. Understood?”

“Yes sir!” Sanghyuk replies, saluting again, surprise and exhilaration bubbling up inside him at the unexpected promotion and the even more unexpected compliment from ‘cool and chic’ Lieutenant Jung himself.

**+**

**First one to fall** : Sanghyuk starts to climb the ranks after that; he’s a dutiful and hardworking member of the crew who takes his work seriously but is also considerate and observant. Before long, he’s made friends with the rest of the senior crew and Corporal Lee is insisting Sanghyuk calls him Jaehwan despite their rank difference and he’s hanging out with Hongbin from Medical Bay and chatting easily with Wonshik from Engineering. Even Captain Cha is fond of Sanghyuk, and is prone to hold extended conversations with the Senior Cadet when he drops by the bridge to submit the latest star route charts. All the while, Taekwoon watches from the sidelines, silently offering assistance when Sanghyuk needs something, and haltingly participates in the younger’s attempts to make casual conversation.

He isn’t even aware of how hard he’s fallen until he sees Sanghyuk passing by with Jaehwan, arms piled with papers and equipment and laughing at some corny joke Jaehwan’s just cracked. His heart thuds unevenly in his chest and his neck feels warm under the thermal jacket he’s wearing, and Taekwoon finally knows how to explain his bouts of moodiness and listlessness to Hakyeon the next time his friend and Captain asks over drinks.

**+**

**First confession** : Most of the crew are graduates of the academy, and therefore from Earth, so when the Gregorian calendar indicates that it’s December 25th once again, they prepare to throw a party on board the  _VIXX_  to celebrate Christmas. Everybody is especially eager to haze the new recruits into parties that seem to grow increasingly wilder by the year, and Sanghyuk is no exception. He and a few of the new Cadets are forced to sprint through the disastrously messy hull of their ship to find the silly little flags Jaehwan wasted an hour making and hiding, and once they’d secured their prize they returned to the mess hall to confront a pitcher of the heinous liquor they picked up at while re-stocking at a friendly planet. Two poor souls passed out without finishing their drink, but Sanghyuk fearlessly tipped his pitcher back, exposing the long line of his neck as the crew chanted “ _CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!_ ” When he slams the empty pitcher down onto the table and burps so violently he feels a momentary vacuum form in his stomach, everybody proceeds to lose their shit as they swarm up to whack his back. Tossed back and forth between the sea of bodies and rowdy crew members, Sanghyuk finally stumbles over to the corner of the room and runs headfirst into Taekwoon.

“Lieutenant Jung,” he stammers, going for a salute, but the older man waves him off and murmurs, “It’s Christmas. You can call me Taekwoon.”

“Ah—” Sanghyuk gapes, and then shuts his mouth. “Takewoon,” he nods, and slaps a hand over his mouth when he feels another burp threatening to rise. To his surprise, Taekwoon lets out a snort and grins at Sanghyuk. “You did well,” the senior officer praises. “You put your best effort in even when it’s something so juvenile.”

Sanghyuk flushes. “I try my best.”

Taekwoon’s dark eyes meet his, and his gaze is softer than Sanghyuk initially thought. “That’s an admirable thing, Sanghyuk,” Taekwoon says. “It’s amongst the many traits I like about you.”

When Sanghyuk swallows, his throat is sandpaper dry, but he forces himself to maintain eye contact. Whatever he’d downed before was giving him the boost he needed, and Sanghyuk finally blurted out, “Traits you like about me?”

Taekwoon nods, and when he reaches out to cup Sanghyuk’s face, he finds himself daring to hope. Then Taekwoon whispers, quiet voice still managing to carry over the rowdiness of the crew somewhere in their peripherals, “Perhaps it’s less of just  _traits_  and more or less liking  _all of you,_ ” and Sanghyuk’s heart  _sings_.

**+**

**First date** : When Sanghyuk sets foot on Earth again after two years of space travel, he’s barely given any time to dramatically reminisce his absence on his home planet before Taekwoon’s hand is sliding through his, tugging Sanghyuk through the crowds milling about the docking zone and out onto the open street. He keeps up easily with his boyfriend’s strides, having hopped onto his growth spurt a little late but managing to skyrocket in height nonetheless. Hongbin had glared at him every time Sanghyuk dropped by med bay to pick up painkillers for his growing pains.

“Where are we going?” he asks, nudging Taekwoon playfully with his elbow, but the other just responds with willful silence until they turned the corner onto a quieter street. Taekwoon scans the stores with a critical eye before tugging on Sanghyuk’s hand, pulling him towards a ramen shop sitting between an apothecary and a vacant lot. A stooped old lady greets them and Taekwoon leads Sanghyuk to a table in the back. Bemused, Sanghyuk strips off his coat and drapes it over the back of his chair. The lady comes by with two menus and cups of hot tea, and Sanghyuk eagerly inhales the scents of fresh tea leaves. It’s like heaven after all the space foods he’s ingested over the years.

Taekwoon is skimming through the menu with extreme focus, and Sanghyuk has long since learned that the Lieutenant’s adoration for food is no joke. A moment later, Taekwoon flips the menu over and points at one of the options. “You’d like this one, I’ve tried it before. It’s their specialty and one of my favourites.”

“Sure, that sounds good,” Sanghyuk says, uncertain if he should bring up the thought that’s bugging him since he stepped into the restaurant, but Taekwoon orders two bowls of noodles and some snacks before handing the menus back. When the lady walks back into the kitchen, he leans over and tugs at his boyfriend’s hand. “Oi, Taekwoon, I haven’t been to a bank to exchange some of the planetary currency I’ve got. I don’t have any Earth money to pay with.”

Taekwoon raises an eyebrow. “That’s fine,” he replies, eyes glittering with mirth. “I’m paying today.”

Sanghyuk backtracks, surprised, and then realization hits him with full force like one of Wonshik’s haywire search bots. He feels his heart rate picking up as he grins at the man sitting across from him. “Oh my,” Sanghyuk beams, feeling like a lovestruck pre-teen. “Taekwoon, is this a  _date?_ ”

**+**

**First awkward moment** : He knows he’s supposed to be heading down to Jaehwan’s observatory once he’s stored his luggage back into his room, but Sanghyuk can’t help but hover by the airlock, wishing they’d installed windows so he could at least watch planet Earth until it fade away from sight— it would be another three years before they’d return. Captain Cha had debriefed them two nights before their scheduled departure date: they’d doing patrol next to a hostile zone as a part of a new defensive rotation Earth had set up with several other planets.  _VIXX_  would be the third ship to take over the rotation, and even though enemy aliens had only engaged other squads in a few battles, it worried Sanghyuk. He knew that was what he’d signed up for, but lingering doubts and fears still clawed at his mind, such as—

“Sanghyuk?”

He whirled around, almost forgetting to salute Taekwoon after spending two relaxing weeks together on Earth without their ranks getting in the way, but Taekwoon was already waving him off, a concerned expression on his face. “I thought you were going to see Jaehwan.”

“I am,” Sanghyuk says, unable to stop himself from looking back at the cold, grey metal of the airlock. “Just got... caught up in some thoughts.”

Taekwoon followed his gaze, and then reached out to thread his fingers through Sanghyuk’s. “About the trajectory of our new trip?”

Sanghyuk swallowed and nodded. “I know we’ll be fine,” he sighs. “I was just thinking of how long it’ll be before we’re back on Earth.”  _If we’ll come back to Earth_ , he doesn’t say, but then Taekwon is stepping into Sanghyuk’s personal space, leaning down to press their lips together, an arm wrapped securely around Sanghyuk’s waist. The warmth is familiar and soothing and Sanghyuk allows himself to melt into the gentle embrace, reaching up with both hands to touch Takewoon’s face.

The sudden clanging of metal and a hastily bitten off curse startles them apart, and they turn to see Wonshik standing at the end of the hallway, face flaming, trying to balance an armful of scrap metal to no avail. His eyes were fixed on the parts lying on the ground as he stammered, “Sorry! Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt, I’ve just... gotta go down to the hull,” he finished a little lamely, gesturing down the hall, and Sanghyuk has to bite down a laugh despite the embarrassed heat rising on his face and sound of Taekwoon’s exasperated exhale next to him.

**+**

**First argument** : “There is literally  _no point_  for Sanghyuk to take one of the jets,” Taekwoon argues, and his voice is loud and clear when he quarrels. It’s nothing like the stern, quiet commands he issues from time to time or the soft tone he saves for Sanghyuk when they’re alone. But right now, he’s standing next to Captain Cha and his boyfriend, watching the two of them argue over him as Jaehwan hangs back, expression unnaturally solemn as he witnesses the exchange between the two senior officers. Taekwoon’s mouth is turned downwards in the deepest frown Sanghyuk’s ever seen, but Captain Cha just looks pained.

“You know I wouldn’t ask Sanghyuk to fly out if I didn’t have to,” Captain Cha replies. “But the last wave of attacks has left us short on pilots, and Sanghyuk is a qualified jet operator. I’ve asked every available Cadet to join ranks, Taekwoon, and Sanghyuk is amongst those Cadets.”

“Sanghyuk’s current position is a Senior Cadet working as a  _star route charter_ ,” Takewoon stresses. “He hasn’t flown a jet in more than a year!”

“I still go to simulation sessions,” he interjects, a little annoyed that they were talking over him, and Taekwoon turns to give him an irate look.

“Simulators are not the same as real life training,” Taekwoon dismisses, and Sanghyuk’s annoyance grows. “He’s unprepared, Hakyeon. You know I don’t play favourites, but I’m saying this because I’m genuinely concerned for the safety of one of our crewmen.”

Sanghyuk bites his lower lip, watching Captain Cha pinch the bridge of his nose. He felt bad for his Captain. Nothing could’ve prepared their ship for the sudden onslaught of enemy aliens, who had only been scouting the first three squads that did their rotation to gain a better understanding of the technology humans had. Once they’d roughly figured out the basis of Earth’s space ships, they’d launched the appropriate attack, leaving them winded and unprepared. After the first two waves, Sanghyuk had been ordered down to assist med bay. He’d never seen so many injured people at once. He ran into Hongbin, but his friend was too busy to take notice of Sanghyuk as he wheeled surgical tools to the operating theatre, looking like he hadn’t slept in days. They needed to hold off until reinforcements from a nearby planet arrived, and that meant all hands on deck.

“If I may,” Jaehwan interrupts, catching everybody’s attention. The corporal clears his throat and nods at Sanghyuk. “I think we should ask Sanghyuk what he wants. He’s more than capable of making his own decision.”

Taekwoon’s gaze snaps to Sanghyuk instantly, intense, but also with a hint of fear, because Sanghyuk knew that Taekwoon already knows the answer he’s about to give. “I want to help,” Sanghyuk says immediately, trying to ignore the way Taekwoon’s shoulders tense. “I can pilot a jet; I will help hold off the enemy until help arrives.”

Captain Cha regards him with a loaded stare, two parts accessing and one part resignation, and nods. “Very well. Jaehwan, you’ll take over the rest of Sanghyuk’s charting duties until reinforcement arrives. Sanghyuk, head down to the launch dock and they’ll get you suited up. Taekwoon—”

“I’m going as well,” Taekwoon says stiffly, looking Captain Cha directly in the eye, and it’s a mark of how deep their friendship goes when Hakyeon  _still_  doesn’t pull rank on Taekwoon.

“Taekwoon, that’s—”

“I’m also more than capable of making my own decisions,” Taekwoon says icily, and Jaehwan winces. Sanghyuk swallows harshly, looking down. “If we’re going to hold out until we get help, we’re going to need pilots who’ve actually  _flown_  in the past year.”

The words stung more than Sanghyuk will ever admit. He jerks his head up and opens his mouth to say something to Taekwoon,  _anything_ , but his boyfriend is already storming out of the room, leaving behind him a silence as cold and still as the vacuum outside of their ship. 

**+**

**First heart-stopping moment** : Space battle was nothing like the movies Sanghyuk watched as a kid. For one, there’s no sound; no dramatic soundtrack playing in the background as explosions rock his jet and scrambles his dashboard, where a million lights are going off at once and Sanghyuk can’t remember for the life of him what each one indicates. It’s also as Taekwoon said. Simulators are not the same thing as the real battle. In the simulator, Sanghyuk sits in a replica jet and sets up the immersion feature, watching the events unfold in front of him on a flexible screen. But outside of the ship, he hears his own rapid breathing through his oxygen mask and feels his hands sweat on the inside of his glove as he tries to lock on to his target. He can feel the sides of his jet shudder and the metal ripple as the laser-like expulsions from enemy pods graze his wings. He can see his fellow Cadets soaring around the perimeter, sometimes chasing down a rogue enemy, other times on fire. The rescue pod is working overtime zooming about collecting pilots who’ve ejected, but it’s such a risky move that Sanghyuk won’t even consider it. Hanging suspended in space without the protection of his jet, at the mercy of the battle around him, was a scary thought.

His jet rattled and Sanghyuk decreased his speed slightly, falling back in the formation to inspect his machinery. This was his third outing. When the damage on his jet become too much, Sanghyuk was advised by operating staff to retreat back to the  _VIXX_ , where he landed messily in the launch dock and let the engineers scramble over to his jet. Wonshik ends up fixing his jet once; his friend was covered in grease and his jacket looked like it’d caught fire at one point. Sanghyuk had tried to ask if Taekwoon had dropped by, but Wonshik had only seen him dock once for a refuel before flying out again. That comforted Sanghyuk somewhat; Taekwoon was undoubtedly an experienced flyer who could handle himself out in space. Sanghyuk, on the other hand, had nearly trashed his wing barely ten minutes on his second outing and was back on the launch dock before he’d even rejoined the formation.

Something caught his eye and Sanghyuk looked up, momentarily blinded by the light of and explosion overhead, and then an enemy pod was flying towards him, ramming so hard into the side of his jet that Sanghyuk fell out of line, nearly crashing into the jet flying next to him. The enemy pod pursued, and Sanghyuk accelerated, watching his dashboard go crazy with warnings. A collision from the rear sent him jolting forwards, harness biting into his chest, and then a laser nearly seared off the top of his jet. Holding his breath, Sanghyuk forced his jet into a rather messy loop-the-loop, shaking the pod off before he did a sharp U-turn to bring himself behind the enemy. Feeling his jet shake with the force of his trajectory, Sanghyuk levelled his controls, took aim, and fired. It was a bull’s eye. The pod exploded in yet another soundless implosion, and the small shockwave that followed set off another warning on his dash. His oxygen supply had been hit. Ears ringing and heart pounding, Sanghyuk turned his jet around and flew back towards the launch dock, hands shaking so badly he could barely land.

He catches sight of Wonshik running around below the jet, but a second later his friend is climbing up on the machine, gesturing for Sanghyuk to climb out. Hurriedly undoing his harness and oxygen mask, Sanghyuk crawls out of the cockpit. “What’s wrong?” he starts to ask, only to feel a terrible onslaught of pain on his side. He loses his footing on the side of the jet and falls six feet onto cold, hard ground. Blinking stars out of his eyes and trying to breathe through the pain in his side, Sanghyuk feels hands helping him up and hears Wonshik’s voice tell him, “Your jet’s too damaged to fly anymore, Sanghyuk, but you need to get to med bay  _now_!”

More hands grab him, and then he’s hefted onto a stretcher, staring up at the high ceiling with blurry eyes as he listens to the medic access him. “Fractured ribs, most likely,” they say. “There might be internal bleeding as well, so stay as still as you can, do you understand?” Sanghyuk replies with a groan, and the medic deems that a reasonable response as they rush him through the  _VIXX_. The noise in the med bay is almost unbearable for his ringing ears as the medics deposit Sanghyuk on a makeshift bed on the floor, leaving somebody else to hand off a few pain killers to him before rushing off as well. Swallowing had hurt, but a few minutes later the medicine had kicked in and Sanghyuk managed to prop himself up on his elbows for a few moments, glancing around at the chaos around him. There were a lot of moderately injured pilots like himself resting on the ground. The beds were distributed to those with worse injuries, like the Cadet with burns on his chest, the unconscious officer hooked up on a machine, and Taekwoon leaning against a pillow with a bandage around his head and his leg in a splint.

Sanghyuk’s stomach plumets.

“Taekwoon!” he yells, scrambling to stand up. He ignores the sudden, dull throb of pain and the momentary bout of nausea that follows as he staggers to his feet and all but collapses against the side of Taekwoon’s bed. His boyfriend opens his eyes, bleary and unfocused for a moment, and then he sees Sanghyuk clutching the edge of his bed. An expression so terribly frightened and raw crosses Taekwoon’s face as he tries to sit up, grabbing Sanghyuk’s hands with his clammy ones.

“Sanghyuk, what happened, why are you here—”

“I should be asking you that,” Sanghyuk cuts in, his voice high. “What happened to your leg? Your head, did you hit your head, how did this happen?”

“A collision,” Taekwoon says, reaching out to cradle Sanghyuk’s face with one hand while the other one squeezes Sanghyuk’s fingers reassuringly. “I ejected before I was completely caught in the debris. I was lucky,” he adds, softer. “It’s a clean break, the doctor set my leg and there won’t be any lasting damage.”

Sanghyuk’s vision wavers for a moment, and then he realizes he’s crying, tears running down his face as he kneels next to Taekwoon’s bed, overwhelmed. Taekwoon’s expression crumbles a little as he wipes the tears off Sanghyuk’s cheeks and murmurs soothingly, “It’s alright, Sanghyuk, you’re alright now.”

“I’m sorry,” Sanghyuk hiccuped. “I’m sorry I insisted on flying the jet, if I hadn’t—”  _you wouldn’t be injured_ , but Taekwoon doesn’t let him finish. Pushing himself off the pillow with a considerable effort, Taekwoon leans over and kisses Sanghyuk, bumping their noses together clumsily because of how woozy the pain killers have made them. Sanghyuk breathes in for a moment, hand tightening around Taekwoon’s, and consumes the moment. Taekwoon was alive. He was alive.

And that was enough.

**+**

**First memorable anniversary** : They returned to Earth six months earlier than their intended arrival date, but nobody was complaining. Though it had been a harrowing battle, the  _VIXX_  had held its ground against the surprise attack until reinforcements had rushed to their aid. After withdrawing, Captain Cha had decided to dock at a nearby planet, where the injured could be properly treated and the engineers could work on the substantial damage on the spaceship and its jets.

Sanghyuk had received a clean bill of health after a few days’ worth of bed rest, but with a broken leg, whiplash, minor head trauma and a shoulder injury, Taekwoon was all but confined to the hospital for at least three weeks, and thus, Sanghyuk’s stay was also unofficially extended as he remained to keep Taekwoon company. His boyfriend was unbelievably high maintenance when he was bored to death, but Sanghyuk didn’t mind staying. The fear of losing Taekwoon was still fresh on his mind, and confirmation that his boyfriend was alive and well enough to grumble under his breath about hospital food was something he needed.

(Judging by the way Taekwoon curled around him a little more tightly while they slept and left a lot more lingering touches on Sanghyuk’s shoulder, back and waist, the older man needed that same reassurance as well.)

Business as normal resumed once most of their crew members were sufficiently well enough to travel back home, and before long they were packing up and preparing to return to Earth. Sanghyuk spent most of his time on board helping med bay restock their supplies and listening to Hongbin talk about how he slept for two straight days after they retreated. Wonshik liked to drop by from time to time too, but Hongbin didn’t trust the engineer around delicate medical equipment, so Wonshik lounged on the chairs while he told Sanghyuk all about the upgraded jets and shot some not-so-subtle looks at Hongbin while the medic worked. Sanghyuk sneakily slipped the address of a good ramen shop to Wonshik when Hongbin wasn’t paying attention, making his friend blush up to his hairline. Seeing the two of them tiptoe around each other had definitely been entertaining, but Sanghyuk figured they needed a push. Plus, playing matchmaker was a good way to keep his mind off how busy things were for the senior staff. He barely saw Taekwoon around anymore now that everybody was working together to pool information about the enemy attack, and both Taekwoon and Captain Cha were too preoccupied to deal with anyone else.

Hence, it came as a surprise when Sanghyuk stepped off the  _VIXX_  for the second time and found Taekwoon waiting for him by the throng of people rushing around the docking zone. He rushes over without any inhibitions anymore, barrelling into Taekwoon’s front and making the older man grunt slightly as he tried to collect Sanghyuk’s taller frame. “Hey,” Sanghyuk says, a little breathlessly as he grins at his boyfriend. Taekwoon smiles back, a fond expression on his face.

“Hello,” he replies, and immediately follows that with, “Do you know what day it is?”

“Huh?” Sanghyuk says eloquently, blinking. “Uh, do you need a calendar—?”

Taekwoon shakes his head. “Today was the day you first boarded the  _VIXX_  five years ago,” he says, and Sanghyuk gapes at him. “Do you remember that?”

“I... kind of,” Sanghyuk says, a little stunned. “Oh god, that’s right, you were there, with Captain Cha.”

The corners of Taekwoon’s mouth quirks upwards, and a bust of wind blows by, ruffling his hair handsomely. “Yes, I was.”

“You thought I was a kid,” Sanghyuk says slowly. “Oh my god, I was  _terrified_  of you back then!”

Takewoon makes a face, and Sanghyuk couldn’t hold back the peel of laughter that bursts forth. “Yes... I recall being doubtful of you. But I’ve been proven wrong a long time ago.”

“Were you?” Sanghyuk grins, feeling Taekwoon wrap his arms around his waist, squeezing lightly.

“Yes, I was. And before your ego starts to inflate, I was thinking that we should celebrate the anniversary of you joining  _VIXX_ ’s crew, as well as your graduation from the academy. From what I can also remember, you joined us the day after you received your qualifications.”

“So you did know after all,” Sanghyuk snickers, and Taekwoon fixes him with a look.

“That was the only reason why I was so against you joining. You were too inexperienced, but Hakyeon insisted. He has high hopes for you, Sanghyuk.”

“And what about you?” Sanghyuk asks, a sudden wave of anxiousness washing over him as he drops his gaze to the collar of Taekwoon’s shirt. “What kind of hopes do you have for me?”

Taekwoon was quiet for a moment, and then he lifted a hand to catch Sanghyuk’s chin, tilting his face back up. “I’d rather think about the hopes I have for  _us_ ,” he clarified, and Sanghyuk could feel the grin threatening to split his face in half.

“I think that would work out just fine.”

+

_End_

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for taking the time to read! (｡･ω･｡)


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